She's one of us
by Solareon
Summary: If he was debating on whether or not to give Michonne to Governor, she deserved a say in it, after everything she had done for them, she deserved at least that.


**Disclaimer: I Don't own Walking Dead, it belongs to the great minds at AMC and the legend Robert Kirkman.**

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**She's one of Us**

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Night had fallen onto the prison, yet no one was sleeping. No one could sleep, the thought that war would be coming soon, it left everyone on edge. The whole group was finding their own ways to deal with the anxiety.

Rick was still staring out at the prison yard from the catwalk, he hadn't left since his conversation with Hershel about Michonne. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, he knew the Governor was lying, he knew that the sick man couldn't be trusted, but...but what if this was him making another bad call?

A tired sigh escaped Rick's mouth as he rested his head against the fence.

The fact that he was even thinking about giving up Michonne, it made him feel dirty, like he was no better than the man asking him to do it. This was the woman who helped the group rescue Maggie and Glenn, who saved Hershel's life, and even his own son's life.

"Been out here for some time now." Said a feminine voice

Rick turned to face the woman he had just been thinking about, Michonne. She walked out onto the catwalk, gun slung over her shoulder, and katana on her back.

For some reason Rick felt more tired than he did before. "Can't sleep." He said turning back to the prison yard.

Michonne leaned against the fence of the catwalk, letting her hand rest on her gun. "Seems like that's going around a lot."

They fell into silence after that, neither saying. The only sound that could be heard was crickets and the faint sound of walkers growing from around the prison yard.

Michonne watches Rick from where she stands, he looks worn out, tired, like whatever had happened with his meeting with the Governor had really effected him. His shoulders looked tensed, and there was a vibe he had been giving off, something she just couldn't place...

"What happened out there today?" She said breaking the silence.

"I told you, he wants war, we're gonna give it to him." He replies still not turning to look her in the eyes.

"But that's not all is it Rick?" Michonne says softy, she walks closer to Rick and stands beside him. She's trying to talk to her face to face, but he keeps his eyes firmly trained forward. "You're keeping something from us, something else happened out there."

Rick just sighs again. If he was debating on whether or not to give Michonne to Governor, she deserved a say in it, after everything she had done for them, she had deserved at least that.

"He wants you." Rick says, his voice raspy and strained.

To Rick's surprise, Michonne didn't even look shocked, in fact, she looked like he had just confirmed something she already knew.

"It's always been that way." Michonne says quietly. "Ever since I first threatened his way life, everything else has just been him moving his pieces on the board closer to me." There's no venom in her voice, just a calmness that sends chills down Rick's spine.

"He says it all ends if I give you to him. No more bloodshed, no war. He'll just walk away and forget about us." He said turning to meet her eyes with his own.

"Do you believe him?" Michonne turns her head away when she asks him this, not wanting him to see her reaction if she says what she fears he'll say.

He thinks long before he answers her, he owed her that much. If the Governor's telling the truth, and he gives up Michonne, then its over. No one has to die. But, what does that mean for the group? For his own humanity, if he can just sell an innocent soul away to a monster, a woman who had earned her place in their family.

_"The world we know is gone, but keeping our humanity? That's a choice."_ A familiar voice said in his head.

It was at that moment Rick knew that he couldn't just give in, he wasn't going to just bury his head in the sand and let that sociopath kill anyone from his group.

He turns to Michonne and places his hand on her shoulder, she tenses up at his touch, but doesn't pull away.

"Look at me." Rick says to her.

She moves her head to look back at him, and tries her best to keep her face stoic.

"No." Rick said.

"No?" Michonne repeats unable to hide the confusion on her face.

"You're one of us now and we protect our own." He replies, voice honest and strong.

Neither say a word, Michonne just stares into Rick's eyes, trying to find something that says he's lying, but finds none.

Michonne breaks eye contact first, she lowers her head, a small smile finds its way on her face. "Thank you." She whispers to him.

He squeezes her shoulder softly. "It's what we do."

She picks her head back up, looking back into Rick's eyes. Another staring match occurs, but again Michonne is the first to blink. She smirks at Rick, then nods a goodbye his way, then wordlessly, she backs away from him, letting his hand slide slowly off her shoulder. She then turns on her heel, and makes her way back into the prison.

Rick watches Michonne from sight, content about his choice to keep her with their group, and safe from the Governor. It felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, he knew he had made the right call. Even if the Governor wasn't lying, which he knew he was anyway, Rick wasn't going to sell out his humanity, that wasn't how he would lead his people.

When Rick had returned to the cell block, he noticed as he walked by the cells, that most of the group had finally managed to calm their nerves and get some rest. As he passed by his son cell, he saw something that made his tired face break out into a warm smile.

On the bottom bunk of Carl's bunk bed was none other than Beth Greene. The girl was sound asleep, blanket over her body, and breathing softy, but that wasn't what made him smile. What had really made the man smile was that Beth was wearing his son's hat on her head as she slept and had a joyful look on her sleeping face.

Rick smiled as he walked away from the scene, he continued on his way to his own cell, hoping that he could get some sleep of his own. He made sure to pass Judith's Nursery/Cell, just to make sure she was okay, and something on the shelf in the room stuck out to him.

On the shelf was a collection of gifts and trinkets the group had all given to Judith, but what stuck out the most to Rick, was a Rainbow-striped cat sculpture. It took a full minute for him to figure out who had given his daughter that, and when he finally remembered, he gave a small laugh to himself.

"Yeah, she's one of us." Rick said as he looked fondly at the rainbow-striped cat.

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**This was just in response to tonight's new episode. I really Doubt Rick's gonna give up Michonne, not after everything she's done for the group and his family. So I just wanted to write something with him making the choice to keep her. I hope I still got the Richonne point acroos in the story, but I think I did alright. And I had to put that Beth and Carl moment in there, cause I just like those kids with each other. **

**Till next time.**

**_~Solareon._**


End file.
